Armenia: prosecutor asks 6.5 years in prison for Volodya Avetisyan

On July 7, in Armenia, at the trial of Volodya Avetisyan, a retired Colonel and a Karabakh War veteran, the public prosecutor asked to sentence him to 6.5 years of imprisonment. In his final speech, Volodya Avetisyan refused to plead guilty. The pronouncement of the verdict has been postponed for indefinite period.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Volodya Avetisyan, an active participant of the protests of Karabakh War veterans, was detained on September 20, 2013. The Karabakh War veteran is suspected of the fact that he had received 2000 US dollars from an official of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Armenia under pretence of helping to exempt a relative of an Armenian citizen from compulsory military service.

"The guilt of Volodya Avetisyan, accused of fraud, has been proved," the public prosecutor has stated at the today's court session.

The public prosecutor has also requested the court to make a decision to withdraw the amount of 2000 US dollars from Volodya Avetisyan and direct the money to the state budget.

Advocate Ara Zakaryan believes the public prosecutor has asked the court for too severe verdict against Volodya Avetisyan. According to the advocate, they have presented to the court the documents of mitigating circumstances, in particular, of the fact that "Volodya Avetisyan takes care of three minor children, he is characterized solely on the positive side, and he took part in many battles."